Haraln Kirgan
About 1,400 state prisoners will be released on Nov. 1 as a part of a move to reduce the state’s prison population by 40 percent.
Reaction by two sheriffs and the Eunice police chief ranged from opposition to hope the program will work.
Acadia Parish Sheriff K.P. Gibson, in a letter, said, “I do not personally support this change as it will put more criminals on the streets of Louisiana and Acadia Parish. We are already fighting criminals who have more rights than our law abiding citizens. Saving money over our citizen’s safety is not right.”
Gibson said of the 1,400 inmates to be released on Nov. 1, 29 are from Acadia Parish or reside just the parish.
St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said two of of the prisoners to be freed are from St. Landry Parish.
“I do have some concerns, Guidroz said about the prisoner release. “I’m just hoping that the program as written works and when I say works I’m hoping that all the time calculated and the programs the inmates participated in were truly beneficial to the inmates so that it helps them upon their release.”
Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot said, “I think it is a horrible idea. I think it going to return a lot of criminals back on the street that shouldn’t be.”
The program was pitched as releasing nonviolent criminals, Fontenot said.
“But what they don’t want to tell people is that many of the people that are committed on nonviolent offenses are convicted as part of a plea bargain where they reduced a violent charge to a nonviolent charge.”
Fontenot, who worked for 13 years as a probation officer, said many times sentences are based on a criminal’s past “and their past may have violent offenses in it.”
The release is part of the Justice Reinvestment program intended to save $285 million over the next decade by reducing the state’s prison population.
Gov. John Bel Edwards won bipartisan support for the package.
The program allows a nonviolent offender who has served 35 percent of the sentence to become eligible for parole. The previous standard was 40 percent.
James LeBlanc, secretary of the state Department of Corrections, said the state already discharges about 1,400 inmates a month.
An inmate with a 10-year sentence would be getting out an average of 63 days early, he said.
While the program is aimed at saving prison costs, Fontenot thinks that is shortsighted.
“They are not taking any of that money and reinvesting toward protection of the people,” he said. “Because we not getting any of that money to help us out with the increased crime rate that we expect to see from this.”
Fontenot believes many of the released criminals will wind up back behind bars.
“They are not really going to suffer any consequences for their actions and they know that,” he said.
Fontenot said he doesn’t think local law enforcement will be notified when the releases occur.
“We will be notified when we start getting the calls about the crimes they commit,” he said.
Guidroz said the state and parish prisons are overloaded.
“But without a doubt this is definitely going to send some people back into the community, our community, St. Landry Parish, that have extensive criminal records,” Guidroz said.
“The best we can hope is they mended their ways are moving on with a better life,” he said.
Gibson stated, “Louisiana is in dire need of revamping the criminal justice system. There is no denying that. It is my opinion that we have gotten away from the victim’s rights and are focusing on the almighty dollar. If Louisiana would not be in the financial shape that we are currently in, would we be seeing these changes?”